[Author's note: This was meant to be a follow-up to the piece "Experiment - The Beastwoman dislikes clothing." I will post a clickable link in the comments section] -- Lai-sa is frozen in fear. Before her lies a daunting task where the fate of the afternoon lies in her hands! Four choices, three of which will lead to doom and despair! Growing impatient, her task giver decides to speak... "Miss Lai-sa, would you please select for me...the salad fork." "Hmmmmmmmm" Unsure of herself, Lai-sa, with a minor shake to her hand, points to a fork to her left. The elven etiquette instructor closes his eyes and softly exhales. "I'm sorry, that is the dinner fork. Let's try again. Of the three remaining forks, please select the salad fork." While the odds of picking the correct fork have increased, Lai-sa does not feel any additional confidence from this change. Timidly, she reaches out and points to a fork to her right. The elven instructor closes his eyes and softly exhales once more. "I'm sorry, but that is the oyster fork. You can tell because it is a slimmer profile fork, when compared to the rest. You do see the differences between the two, yes? Lai-sa looks down and, to her, the two forks appear identical. She looks down at the forks again, then looks up to the instructor and begins to nervously chuckle. This does not give the instructor confidence. Nearing the point of exhaustion, the instructor calls out to Cecil. "Young Mister Jacobin, would you mind approaching the table for a moment?" Cecil, who has been in the background during this whole ordeal, approaches Lai-sa and the instructor. "It appears that my descriptions for these different forks is not working for the young lady here. Perhaps you can explain to her the differences between the salad fork and, say...this dinner fork?" Cecil looks down at the two forks and, to him, they both appear to be identical. Cecil tries to speak with confidence as he selects a fork from the group. "Uhhh, that's the salad fork, right?" The instructor rests the palm of his hand over his forehead and exhales loudly. "No, young Mister Jacobin...that's the dinner fork. My goodness, the two of you will need divine intervention if you intend on successfully attending the Viceroy of Demonte's upcoming evening banquet! Young Mister Jacobin, please take the seat opposite of Miss Lai-sa and we will pick up from the beginning. This time, I want you both to pay very close attention to what I say. There will be tests throughout the lessons!" Both Lai-sa and Cecil groan in unison. "Guuuuhhhhhhhhhhh" "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh" The instructor has lost both his patience and his cool demeaner. He slaps his hand on the table, producing a quick and sharp crashing sound that neither Cecil or Lai-sa were prepared for. Both yelp in unison. "NO COMPLAINING! Now, starting from the beginning, we have the fruit fork. The fruit fork can be identified by it's distinct three prongs and slender shape. Next to that is the salad fork, which can be identified by it's..." As the instructor continues on with his lecture, both Lai-sa and Cecil look to one another with uncertainty...
